Prescription: Murder

Prescription: Murder

by William Link and Richard L. Levinson

Auditions: Monday, February 26, 2018 at 7pm (3 Women / 4 Men)

Synopsis

Set in the 1960’s, this stage play is the basis for the popular TV series Columbo. A brilliant psychiatrist, Ray, is having a passionate affair with one of his patients. His wife, Claire, suspects he is having an affair and threatens to divorce him and leave him penniless if she ever catches him. He and his mistress devise a plot to kill her and make it seem like she was killed by an intruder. The execution of their plan and the creation of their perfect alibi depends on a bizarre impersonation, which they pull off beautifully. After Ray returns from vacation and “finds” his wife, he encounters the rumpled Lieutenant Columbo – whose seemingly random bouts of rambling inattention and meandering questioning mask a devilishly skilled investigator, who soon recognizes that the murder of Claire is the work of her husband. Columbo then engages the psychiatrist in a duel of wits as he works diligently to find the proof needed, But, it is the mistress who proves to be the weak link which leads to a trap and a surprising climax.

The Characters

Miss Petrie – a pleasant, efficient woman in her fifties with a genuine liking for people.

Dr. Roy Flemming – a polished, urbane New York psychiatrist in his forties. Highly civilized, pragmatic, with a cold, functioning intelligence. He wears conservative, artfully-tailored suits.

Claire Flemming – a brittle, sardonic product of New York’s East side. She is in her early forties and shows the strain of a loveless marriage.

Susan Hudson – Young and extremely attractive, with a hint of latent sensuality. She is not particularly complicated, but as the play progresses she shows the burden of the increasing tension.

Lieutenant Columbo – a rumpled police official of indeterminate age. He seems to be bumbling and vague, with an overly apologetic, almost deferential manner. This masks an innate shrewdness, and foxy knowledge of human nature.

Dave Gordon – a smooth, boyish lawyer with his eye on a political future.

Delivery Boy – early twenties

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